What’s the Deal with Prolonged Grief Disorder (and why should you care)?

PROLONGED GRIEF DISORDER! It’s everywhere - social media, The New York Times, The Washington Post… it’s the hot new medical condition everyone’s talking about. But why is everyone so mad about it? 

This week on the show, an overview of this hotly contested “new” human disorder, and what it means for the average person, for healthcare providers, and honestly - for the whole world. This is one medical diagnosis that affects everyone. 

Want your questions answered on the show? To submit your questions by voicemail, call us at [phone] or visit megandevine.co

In this episode we cover: 

• Why anyone should care what the APA thinks about grief
• The actual diagnostic criteria for prolonged grief disorder (translated from psych-jargon into the way real people speak)
• Access to care + funding for research: two of the main reasons people think this diagnosis could be helpful (and why it isn’t) 
• The real world impact of the DSM: doubling down on shame and misunderstanding
• Why launching new rules about how long it’s ok to grieve is more than a bit problematic while we’re still in the middle of a mass death and mass disabling event (aka the pandemic)
• One surprise reason this diagnosis *could* be seen as a good thing

Click here for the episode webpage

Notable quotes: 

“Grief makes you less productive, and what we value above all else is productivity.” - Megan Devine

Questions to Carry with you: 

Read up on the unfolding public conversation about prolonged grief disorder - how do *you* feel about it? Let us know! Call us at [phone] or visit megandevine.co

Additional resources

For an interview with both Megan and the author of the NYT article, Ellen Barry, on WGBH TV Boston, click here. 

To read Megan’s more detailed response to the NYT article, including tweet-by-tweet takedowns of most of the major “pro disorder” points, check out the original Twitter thread, and the extended thread. Versions of these threads are also on the blog. 

Want to read even more about our culture’s deep avoidance of human emotion, and all the ways that messes with day to day life? Maybe more important, want to know what’s actually normal inside grief? Check out Megan’s best-selling book, It’s OK that You’re Not OK, and follow @refugeingrief on IG/FB/TW 

We recommend you check out the Perfectly Normal campaign, serving up just the validation you need when you’re feeling like the only person in the world doing that “weird” thing you do. 

Therapist, clinician, or other healthcare provider? Be sure to check out upcoming trainings that address PGD and re-humanizing grief. Follow Megan Devine on LinkedIn, too. 

Other articles on prolonged grief disorder include Medicalizing Grief May Threaten Our Ability to Mourn

Get in touch:

Thanks for listening to this week’s episode of Here After with Megan Devine. Tune in, subscribe, leave a review, send in your questions, and share the show with everyone you know. Together, we can make things better, even when they can’t be made right. 

To submit your questions by voicemail, call us at [phone] or visit megandevine.co

For more information, including clinical training and consulting, visit us at www.Megandevine.co

For grief support & education, follow us at @refugeingrief on IG, FB, & TW

Check out Megan’s best-selling books - It’s Okay That You're Not Okay and How to Carry What Can’t Be Fixed  

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